Background
Background
Throughout the SADC region, rapidly growing demand exists for infrastructure in the form of Roads, Bridges, Railways, ICT, Water Supply, Sanitation and Energy. Private investment in infrastructure has been on the rise in recent years and PPPs are increasingly being considered an important vehicle to close the infrastructure gap. It was for this reason that the SADC ministers of Infrastructure in 2010 mandated the SADC Secretariat to establish a 3P network for the SADC region. The SADC 3P network was then launched in February 2011. The network initially focused on capacity building but subsequently came to the conclusion that it had to also play a role in PPP project development and become an advisory hub for PPPs in the region. To this end, the Network continues to provide support to the SADC Secretariat regarding implementation of the SADC short regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP) which was launched in 2012. The primary objective of the SADC RIDMP is to define the minimum, but ultimate regional/trans boundary infrastructure development requirements and conditions to facilitate the implementation and realization by year 2027 of the key infrastructure in the water, energy, transport, tourism, meteorology and telecommunication sectors.